


Just the Girl Next Door

by strongwomendoitforme



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Actually that's how he always is, F/F, Housewife AU, Lena is thirsty, Mon-El is a douche, Slow Burn, Swingers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 18:43:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17772203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strongwomendoitforme/pseuds/strongwomendoitforme
Summary: Kara is in an unhappy, loveless marriage. What happens when a mysterious, beautiful woman moves next door?





	1. Hello there, stranger

One afternoon, out of the blue, a Uhaul pulled up across the street.

Our neighbors, the Jenkins, had moved to Florida suddenly but their house was not put on the market. She had told me that she would be coming back in the winter to clean things up and get ready for the sale. But months had gone by and she hadn't come back. 

I decided to be neighborly and go over to check things out. Because I'm in charge of the HSA, of course, and it was my job to see who was moving in next door. I grabbed the closest food I could find-cookies-and headed across the road.

When I knocked on the door, a tall, muscular man answered.

“Can I help you?”

“I'm so sorry to bother you. My name is Kara and I live nearby,” I said, motioning across the street. “Ms Vera Jenkins was-is?-my neighbor and I wanted to see how she was doing. And I brought cookies,” I said, handing him the tin.

“I don't know a Vera Jenkins. My wife and I just bought this house from someone named Phil. Isn't that right, honey?” he said, motioning inside the house. “Come out here and meet the neighbor.”

I saw her before she saw me. Long, raven-colored hair and the clearest, most beautiful blue-green eyes I've ever seen met mine. She smiled when she saw me.

“Hi, I'm Lena. And I trust you've met my husband, James Olsen.”

“Hi James.”

“Kara here brought over cookies and she was telling me about the previous owner, a Ms Vivian-”

“Vera-” I interrupted.

“Jenkins. Did you hear of that name before?”

“No, but Phil did mention that this house belonged to his aunt previously.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “She mentioned a nephew but I never met him. Do you know what happened to her?”

“I think she died, the poor dear,” she said.

I couldn't think of anything to say.

“Listen, I hate to cut this short but we have a truck to unload. James and I are throwing a little dinner party this weekend if you'd like to come. Are you busy?”

“No, I don't think we have anything on the books.”

“So you're married?” she asked.

“Yes, I have a...Mike is my husband.”

“You should bring Mike over! Say about seven on Saturday?”

“Sounds great! We'll be there.”

When I got back to the house, Mike was pouring himself a drink.

“Where have you been? I got home thirty minutes ago and had to make my own drink.”

“I'm sorry, Mike. I was across the street meeting the new neighbors. Did you know Vera died?”

“I don't give a shit about Vera. What I care about is you being off god-knows-where and not here when I get home from work, which is your job.”

“I'm sorry. I went over to see how Vera was doing because I thought she moved back.”

“You knew what time it was. You should've been here,” he said, draining his drink. “I work my ass off all day and the least you can do is be here when I get back with a stiff drink and a hot supper.”

“How many is that?” I said, motioning to his now-empty glass.

“What the fuck does it matter.”

“There's no reason to curse at me.”

“The hell there isn't. Pour me another,” he said, slightly slurring. “Clearly there isn't going to be any food so I'll have a liquid dinner.”

I made him another martini without saying a word. Then, I heated up the meatloaf I'd made and brought it to him in the living room. I knew he'd need the food considering he was on at least drink number three for the evening.

After dinner, I went with him to bed. It was Wednesday, which meant that I'd be lying on my back, staring at the ceiling while he jackhammered into me and expected me to enjoy it. Once that was done, I stood and went into the bathroom to clean myself up.

“The new neighbors, Lena and James, invited us over to dinner on Saturday night.”

“I'm not interested. I'll be too tired.”

“Come on, honey, we need to be nice. It's my job to know as much as I can about the residents here.”

“Your job is to be my wife and stay home. Hopefully with our kids soon.”

“You're right, but I might as well be neighborly. They might have kids for ours to play with one day.”

“Okay, but if they're boring I'm leaving before dinner is served.”

I returned to bed and kissed him on the cheek. “Okay, Mike. Let's just hope it isn't boring.”

He grumbled and before I knew it, was snoring. I stayed awake for a couple of hours, tossing and turning and thinking about the new neighbors. Did they have children? Who were they? And what is the story with Lena? She seemed very interesting. I finally managed to get a few hours' sleep before Mike's alarm woke me.

He liked for me to be an early riser, claiming that women who slept in while their husbands got up were lazy. So, I made him breakfast and picked out his clothes for the day and packed his lunch while he slept in another half hour. When he finally rose, he'd rush through getting ready and head out the door with a peck on my cheek.

After he was gone I'd clean the house, run errands, and begin preparing diner. We'd decided I should stay home because we'd eventually have children-and I didn't need the money-but I'd secretly been taking pills to ensure I wouldn't get pregnant. Not that I didn't want children, mind you, but because I didn't want to care for a child when Mike was so needy. I knew he'd get jealous of attention spent on anyone other than him.

The rest of the week followed routine, with spaghetti for dinner on Thursday, pot roast on Friday, and a big picnic lunch on Saturday. 

When the time came to get ready for the party, I surprisingly struggled with finding something to wear. What if I was under dressed? What if I was over dressed? What if Lena and James didn't like us?

Lena looked so chic and fashionable in her outfit the other day that I knew I'd struggle to match her level of style. After trying on half a dozen outfits, I settled on a red and blue dress.I didn’t like the dress so much-I found that it was a little stiff and scratchy-but Mike liked it and I thought it was worth wearing to put him in a better mood.

Not knowing anything about Lena, I had decided to bring a houseplant for the housewarming versus alcohol. I didn't want to offend anyone. Also, I thought it might keep Mike from drinking too much. I really didn't feel like fighting.

When we arrived at Lena and James' house, she greeted us at the door wearing a plunging silk blouse and a form-fitting black skirt. She looked beautiful and it made my stomach twist. I definitely didn't look as good as her. James was in the kitchen making cocktails for the men there while Lena was making the rounds speaking with the three women in attendance.

When it came time for dinner, everyone sat down at the table across from their partners, with women on one side and men on the other.

I noticed that the couples weren't really interacting with each other, far more interested in the company of their same gender. Which is normal, I suppose. I don't have any male friends. Mike wouldn't allow that so I've never considered it.

"So Kara, how long have you and Mike been married?" Lena asked.

"Three years this June," I said, taking a sip of the wine in front of me.

"Do you have any children?"

"No, not yet. What about you and James?"

She laughed "No, but we aren't really planning on it."

"Really? I can't imagine myself not having children."

"We are both really focused on our careers and neither one of us want to stay home. I don't think it's in the cards for us."

"Or you could marry another spouse. I hear that's what the Mormons are doing out west," Mike interjected, slightly slurring his words.

Everyone at the table awkwardly laughed.

After dinner, the men retired to the den while the women cleared the table and washed the dishes. Slowly, the guests started to leave, leaving me alone with Lena.

"What did you think of my friends?"

"They seemed nice. Are they James' friends from work?"

She laughed. "They're work friends, but not James'. They actually work at my company."

"Oh, what company do you work for?"

"Own, darling. L-Corp."

"Wait. You're Lena Luthor?!"

"You thought I was Lena Olsen?"

"I assumed you took James' name and I've never heard of Lena Olsen."

"But you know Jimmy's name?"

"I've heard Mike mention it a time or two but didn't connect the dots. So you didn't take his name when you got married? How did he feel about that?"

"I didn't ask him. We don't have some kind of ultra-traditional marriage. Not that there's anything with tradition, we just follow our own rules."

I felt myself start to get offended. "I find comfort in tradition and routine."

"Kara, I didn't mean to upset you. I just mean that my marriage is more of a business decision than a romantic one."

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean-"

"Kara, it's time to go," Mike interrupted.

"Good night, Lena. Thank you for having us over. I'll have to return the favor sometime."

"Good night, Kara, Mike. But before you go, Kara, I'm having a little ladies get-together on Thursday if you'd like to come."

"I'll have to check the calendar at home."

"I think she's busy that night," Mike answered.

"Well if you are available, please let me know. I'd love to have you."

"Thank you."

When we got home, it took Mike all of two seconds to start yelling at me. “I don't want you spending time over there?”

“What are you talking about?” 

I followed him upstairs, trying to make eye contact but he ignored me.

“That woman is a bad influence. I don't want her influencing you.”

“You're drunk. She was perfectly nice.”

He threw his clothes on the floor and I bent down to pick them up. “They seemed like a nice couple. What is the problem with them?”

“That woman-”

“Her name is Lena.”

“Lena didn't take her husband's name and refuses to stay home so Jimmy isn't able to have children. She's denying him fatherhood.”

“He could always stay home if he wanted to have children.”

“That's not the way things are supposed to be.” 

“It's 2019, not 1959. Men can stay home from work, too.”

“Not any man worth the title.”

“You're overreacting. I think they should be able to have whatever kind of marriage and life that they want. It's none of our business.”

“It isn't right, Kara. A woman's place is in the home, raising children.”

“You are imposing your old-fashioned views on the world. Let others take care of themselves.”

“You aren't going to be friends with her and that is that,” he said, crawling into bed and shutting off the bedside lamp.

“We'll see about that,” I said. Quietly. And then I went downstairs and rage-cleaned the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter when Kara learns the truth about Lena's marriage

I stayed mad at Mike for the next two days. Wednesday night, I decided we needed to have a conversation. 

“I’ve been thinking things over the last few days,” I began tentatively. 

“That’s never a good way to begin a sentence.”

“Can you not be mean for once?”

He motioned for me to continue. 

“I would really like to go to the party tomorrow night. I know you’re afraid she’ll corrupt me or whatever but as a member of this community’s leadership, I want to be welcoming to a new neighbor. I’m going to go for an hour, tops. That way I can say I made my required effort and I won’t have to accept further invitations.”

He seemed to consider this for a minute. 

“I don’t want to fight with you but you’re not going to tell me what to do. So I’m going, and I need you to be okay with that.”

“Fine.”

We barely spoke for the rest of the day and when I sent him off to work on Thursday, he didn’t even acknowledge me. But I was fine with that, because if he wanted to act like an immature child about things, I’d let him. 

When I showed up at Lena’s for girls’ night, I don’t know what I was expecting. But I didn’t get it. The house was full of women-all beautiful, drinking and laughing and seemingly having a good time. 

I think the biggest surprise of all, though, was the fact that my sister Alex was there, along with some woman I didn’t recognize. Alex spit out her the drink she was sipping when she recognized me. 

“K-Kara what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Alex and I weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, due to her absolute hatred of Mike and the impact it had on my home life. I wasn’t surprised to not recognize her girlfriend. After the horrible breakup with her fiancé Sam, Alex had sworn off serious relationships in favor of flings and rebounds until she could get over her. 

“I didn’t realize you were friends with Lena Luther.”

“I’m not, but Luisa here is."

"Hi Luisa, nice to meet you." I reached out and shook her hand.

"You too. Yeah, Lena and I used to-”

“Kara! I’m so glad you made it!” Lena interrupted. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here.” She hugged me and offered a warm smile. 

“Me either. Thanks for having me, Lena. This is quite the turnout!” I motioned to the packed living room. 

She motioned to me to follow her and I did, into the kitchen where the bar was set up. 

“It’s a combination party-housewarming and ladies get together-so it’s a little busier than usual.”

“It’s been ages since I’ve been to a female only party.”

“Oh really? I hardly ever go to mixed sex parties. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll take a club soda please.”

“Are you sure you don’t want something a little stronger? You seem a little nervous.”

“Maybe add a little vodka to it. I am nervous, because Alex is here.”

“The redhead with Luisa? You know her?”

“Yes, she’s my sister.”

“Well isn’t it a small world? I only met her tonight.”

“Yeah she told me her date knows you.”

“Oh yes, Luisa and I go way back.”

I took the drink she offered me. 

"Do you work with her?"

"Oh heavens no She's a personal friend from college."

"That's great. I am not in touch with anyone from college...aside from Mike, of course."

"So you met while in school?"

"Yes, we met in Psych class freshman year and have been together ever since. Married when we graduated."

"The classic school sweethearts, I take it."

"Oh yes. What about you and James?"

"We're a little less fairy tale and a little more medieval. Our marriage is more for business than love."

"That's sad. I can't imagine marrying for anything other than love."

"So you are with Mike because you love him?"

"Of course. We have a nice life together."

"If that works for you, I'm happy for you. I've found romantic entanglements are best kept private when you're in a position like I am."

"I don't follow."

"It's all for show, darling. Mike and I are the public persona and I have a private life I keep private."

"So you're in some kind of like open marriage?"

"Something like that. Oh don't look so shocked! You have to know other people with non-traditional marriages."

"No, I can't say that i do. I pretty much only spend time with normal people in normal relationships."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm abnormal?"

"No, no I didn't mean it like that! But you're super rich and clearly live on a different level than most."

"I'm only teasing, darling. I know what you meant. When you're a Luthor, the rules are different. You can't do anything that harms the public persona. And if I were to be more upfront with my desires and preferences, I'm afraid the stocks would plummet."

"That's sad. I can't imagine living a life you don't want because of what people would think."

"Oh really?" Again with the eyebrow raising.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry. Listen, I would love to keep chatting you up but I'm being a terrible hostess. Let me go check on everyone and we can continue this later."

"Don't worry about it. I'll go mingle."

"Great. Let me know if you need anything!"

I went back outside to find Alex but she was full-on making out with Luisa. She caught my eye and pulled away, acting embarrassed.

"Kara, you're still here. I figured you went running as soon as you saw I was here."

"No, I was speaking with Lena. I know how to behave in front of other people, and that involves saying hello to the hostess. Not just hiding out outside and making out with some random girl."

"It must be so lonely on your high horse. I'll have you know that Luisa and I have been dating for a month. And I've been here for hours already. I'm sorry you don't approve of the way I carry myself. Or should I say this isn't the way Mike expects people to act."

"Don't bring Mike into this."

"Speaking of, does he know that you're at a lezzie party?"

"What are you talking about? This isn't a-"

"Look around, Kar."

Annoyed, I took another look at the guests at the party. It was then that I noticed the women paired off, with several couples openly displaying affection of varying levels. I didn't realize this was a-"

"Lena's a lez," Luisa interjected. "Her marriage is all for show but this is her real life."

"Alex, is this true?"

"Yeah, she and Luisa were together in high school."

"Oh my gosh. So that's what she was talking about when she said her marriage is for show."

"Yep, and she keeps her sex life a secret from anyone but her closest friends."

"What about James? Is he gay too?"

"No idea. Never met the man. But I'm guessing they have some sort of arrangement. And judging by your face, this is all a little too much for you to take in. Especially since you're Mrs June Cleaver and all.

"I think I better go. This drink must be getting to me."

"Sure, blame it on the drink. But we both know you're afraid of what your husband is going to say if he finds out you've been hanging out with a bunch of dykes all night."

"That was out of line."

"Was it? Or is the truth just too uncomfortable for you to admit?"

I rushed through the house and was back at my house in record time, closing the door behind me on a night full of surprises and emotional moments. I crawled into bed without waking Mike and went to sleep almost immediately, dreaming of secret affairs and lies.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into fanfiction after taking over a decade off. Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine. I apologize in advance.


End file.
